Harry
by Michael Dempsey
Summary: Uncle Vernon takes drastic measures to contain Harry. This is set near the beginning of Order of the Phoenix and is unsuitable for young readers.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

'It's over,' said Harry, his voice hollow. 'I've been expelled.'

Silence filled the room. Petunia was still clutching Dudley, who looked sickly and pale and whose eyes were unfocused, but both she and Vernon were now staring incredulously at Harry.

He felt nothing but blind shock at the content of the letter he held in his hands. Was it true? He had just saved his cousin and himself, and this was his reward? He let the silence spin out, though his heart was pounding in his chest and his head felt as if it was full of lead.

Finally, Uncle Vernon stood up. 'Right, boy,' he said, and there was meanness in every syllable he uttered. 'If you've really been expelled, I want you to go up to your room, right now, and stay there. I don't want to look at you any more.'

Harry stood up on numb legs. The letter slipped from his loose grip and fell to the floor but he ignored it. Then, as he turned and began walking to the door and out into the hallway he heard the sound of something being drawn and a small tinkle. He started to turn round again but Uncle Vernon came flying on top of him and Harry buckled forward under his weight as the two of them crashed to the hallway carpet.

'GET OFF ME!' Harry yelled, feeling the wind disappear from his chest against the floor under Vernon's excessive weight. As Harry reached up to one of the bars in the banister, Uncle Vernon's huge, porky arm flew out and seized his wrist.

'I'M NOT DONE YET, BOY!' Uncle Vernon thundered, and wrenched both of Harry's arms behind his back. Harry couldn't help crying out in pain, and he tried swaying from side to side, though that did nothing to topple the giant sitting astride him; Harry was flattened from the midriff down. Then, with a thrill of pure horror, Harry realised that what he had heard before was Vernon removing his belt from his jeans; Vernon had looped it several times around Harry's wrists, tying his hands firmly behind his back.

Seconds passed in silence; Harry gingerly tested the strength of his bonds and discovered that the thick leather belt was much too tight to slip out of. Grunting, Uncle Vernon climbed to his feet and, laying hold of Harry's shoulders, roughly pulled him to his feet. Harry didn't realise how painful it was to have Uncle Vernon sitting on his back until he stood up straight; white pain ricocheted across his belly and lower back and he doubled up, falling against the banister to stop himself going down again.

'You were expelled.'

Bent double, breathing harshly, Harry could hardly believe that the same man who had tackled him to the ground and tied his hands behind his back was now speaking to him in a level, rational voice. After the pain in his middle had subsided a bit, Harry raised his head to lock eyes with his uncle.

'You were expelled, and that means I don't want you leaving the house. I don't want you leaving your room to cause trouble.'

_My room_, Harry suddenly thought, feeling hopeful. _My wand is in there_.

'And you're not getting to any of your _stuff_ either, boy, believe me!' growled Vernon, as if he had known exactly what Harry was thinking. He grabbed Harry's elbow and swung him round to face the bottom of the stairs. 'Now get up there.'

Desiring not to be pushed and kicked all the way up, Harry managed to run up the stairs without losing his balance. Uncle Vernon, quick and agile for a man so large, followed close behind. When Harry pushed his bedroom door open with his foot and stepped inside, Vernon charged him again, slamming into his back. Had it not been for Harry's bed to break the fall, he would have crashed onto the floor and broken his nose.

When he had shuffled out of his bedcovers, Harry saw Vernon standing there holding Harry's wand in one hand and his trunk in the other. He felt a pinch of amusement at the sight of Vernon holding the wand away from him like a stick of dynamite about to go off at any second and trying to look menacing at the same time. 'This can go up here' said Vernon, placing the wand on the higher-most shelf in the bookcase, which Harry normally wouldn't be able to reach without standing on a stool and reaching up with his hands anyway, 'and you, on the floor.'

Harry hastened to obey, but only because he was aching all over, especially in his shoulders. He knelt down on the carpet, but Vernon made a gesture by motioning with a downwards-facing palm; Harry was to lie flat on his stomach. He curled up, turning sideways on his knees as he did so, and landed gently on his side. Then he stretched out and rolled onto his stomach. His palms were wet with sweat and the belt was making his wrists sore, but as he uselessly tried once again to pull his hands free, Harry realised there was no way he was getting out of this without magic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Harry knew that his wand was now out of reach, so he must find a means to get it down. He screwed his eyes shut as he thought, because it made it easier to focus. Uncle Vernon was striding around the room, and the thudding of his great feet sang in unpleasant waves through Harry's hurting body.

Barely a moment later he felt something snatching at his legs. He opened his eyes at the same time as Vernon looped a second belt around his ankles and buckled it tight. Harry brought his feet up swiftly behind him in an effort to distract Vernon, who retaliated by kicking Harry extremely hard in his side. Harry yelled in pain as he writhed on the floor, his hands and feet now strictly bound and a new source of torment in his hip.

He swore at Uncle Vernon with as much hate in his voice as he could muster and earned another kick as his reward. '_How dare you?_' breathed Vernon, his eyes reducing to mean slits. Without waiting for an answer he knelt directly in front of Harry. Harry caught a glimpse of the horrid grey and black-striped tie before it was forced between his teeth, wrapped twice around his head and knotted, gagging him. 'I hope this teaches you some deference before your elders,' said Vernon.

_OK, go now_, Harry thought. _You've made your point; my hands are tied behind my back, my feet are bound tightly together, and my mouth is firmly gagged. I'm trapped_.

Vernon stood up without a word and walked out of the room.

_Yes!_ Harry tried to move his arms; the leather belt seared the skin of his wrists. It was holding fast, which meant that if he truly wished to escape, he would probably have to hurt himself a little. Just as he reached this conclusion, Vernon stepped back into the room.

From his angle on the floor, Harry couldn't quite see what Vernon was holding, though in the briefest moment that he got a look at it he thought it was the blue cotton belt from Vernon's own bathrobe. Then Vernon was behind him out of sight, Harry's belted ankles were pulled up sending a bolt of fire through his calves, his hands were wrenched downwards and then both feet and hands were lashed together in a hogtie.

'mmmmMMMMMMGHHHH!' Harry tried to protest through the gag.

Vernon stood up straight and walked round to stand in front of Harry's face. Harry could not look up and was thus treated to a view of Vernon's smart black shoes and dark trouser cuffs. He supposed Vernon was surveying his work, evaluating his craftsmanship and wondering what he could do to improve it. Apparently he could do nothing, at least for the time being, because he went to the door once again and paused on the way out.

Harry could see his uncle's angry-white face and his beady little eyes now. They maintained eye contact, the tied up teen on the floor and the enormous man in the doorway as the latter spoke in a growl.

'I hope you sleep well, Potter. I am leaving you now for a bit, and when I return I hope to find an improvement in your behaviour. If I do, I might alleviate your security. If I come back and you're just as disrespectful as you were when I left, however, your punishment will be much, much worse.'

He left, snapping the light off and closing the door. The room went completely black and Harry was alone.


End file.
